Fireworks
by PagetPaulson
Summary: July 4th barbeque.


Squinting because of the stinging in her eyes, Emily used her free hand to wave the smoke away from her. "God," she coughed, her mouth in her elbow. "Way to burn the burgers."

"They're not burnt," the firefighter retorted, flipping on over with his spatula.

Emily smirked, doing her best to hide the curving of her lips with her hot dog. "Kind of ironic, don't you think?"

Derek pointed the barbeque utensil at his friend. "I'll spank you with this."

"Kinky," she laughed.

The firefighter had invited her to and a few other friends to the station's fourth of July party that year. Being new to the station, Derek had wanted to introduce his friends to his coworkers, knowing he'd be spending a lot of time with both groups.

Flipping over another burger, the firefighter waved a hand at the brunette beside him. "Will you go get the frozen burgers from the fridge?"

Emily frowned. "Can I take a beer while I'm at it?"

The dark skinned man laughed, never looking up from the grill because he knew damn well she was already on her way.

"Derek!"

Looking up, the firefighter grinned. "Hey man," he laughed, slapping the hand of the older man once he made it over to the grill. "You get the ice?"

The older man's face paled. "Do you know how heavy ice is?"

"You carry hundreds of pounds on a daily basis," Derek chortled, shaking his head as he put the finished burgers in their buns. "Hotch, learn to carry your balls man."

Doing his best not to break out into laughter at the phrase, Hotch furrowed his brow and stared hard at the younger man. "Carry my balls?"

Derek nodded. "You know," he laughed, puffing out his chest as he rearranged the charcoal he had put in the grill. "Hold your own, man. Be macho."

Hotch's chin trembled as he held back his laughter.

"Derek, I got your hamburgers but they look pretty gross," a voice came, both men turning to see Emily walking up with a disgusted look on her face. "The paper is all stuck to the meat. It's like a huge mess of shit."

Derek rolled his eyes and took the plate from his friend. "Thanks."

Looking up, the brunette woman's eyes met those of the new man standing next to the grill. "Hi," she smiled softly, her heart pounding as she switched her fresh beer from one hand to the other so she could offer it up to the older man.

"Hi. I'm Aaron."

Emily let him shake her hand before she took a swig of her beer. "Emily. Are you a firefighter here?"

Derek kept his eyes on the burgers as he tried to pry them apart with his spatula but shook his head. "No shit, Em."

"Shut the fuck up," the brunette woman retorted, splashing the leftover condensation on her hands at the dark skinned man. "He could have easily been a friend of a friend."

Watching the interaction with amused eyes, Hotch nodded. "I am." Taking a sip of his own beer, he nodded down to the shorter brunette. "What do you do?"

Emily grinned. "I'm a police officer."

"Really?"

The brown eyed woman, her brows raising and her teeth shining in her smile as she watched him look to her in surprise. "With a gun and everything." Gesturing to her friend at the grill with her beer, Emily shook her head. "Be nice to my friend or I'll use it on you."

Hotch laughed around the rim of his bottle.

"Ew."

Emily slapped Derek on the arm before turning back to the other man.

"Emily, can I get you a burger?" Another firefighter had taken the plate of newly made burgers and brought them over to one of the buffet tables.

Derek smirked when he heard her accept his offer. "She already had a-"

"You know what," the officer interrupted, keeping herself composed and smiling up to her friend's coworker. "Why don't I go and get it? Can I get you one too?"

"Sure." Hotch watched the beautiful woman walk away before elbowing the other firefighter. "What's going on with you two?"

Derek laughed. "Nothing man, we just bicker sometimes."

Hotch turned and shook his head. "No, I mean what's going on between you?"

Frowning, the firefighter in front of the grill looked over his coworker's shoulder and looked to his friend squirting some ketchup onto her burger. "Me and Em? Nothing," he denied, his brows raised as he went back to ripping apart the burgers. "Not right now."

The older man's face fell.

"Look, we're not like that."

"But you sa-"

"Hey," Emily grinned, popping up beside the two men and handing the burger to Hotch. "So what are you two talking about?"

Derek rolled his eyes as he tried to get the paper to melt off of the meat on the grill, smirking at the question. He and Emily had hooked up a few times during their drunken nights, but nothing had ever been serious between them. Emily was more his sister than anything else. "Hotch likes you, Em."

Hotch's eyes bugged at the statement, and he coughed up the beer he had been swallowing and spit it on the ground.

Jumping out of the way, the brunette quickly put a hand to the coughing man's shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"Yup!" the choked out, coughing into his elbow away from the younger woman. "Yup, I'm good."

Emily turned and punched her friend in the shoulder.

"GIRL!" Derek jumped back and waved the spatula in Emily's direction, the sting from her fist radiating through his arm. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

The police officer glared at her longtime friend before setting a hand to Hotch's back. "Do you want to go and get a glass of water?"

Nodding his head, Hotch took a chance and grabbed the younger woman's hand. "Yes, thank you." He led her away from the grill and grinned to himself, feeling her hand wrap around his as they made their way toward the firehouse.

Derek shoved the spatula in hand in their direction. "Use protection!"


End file.
